The Teddy Bear
by Yazzy
Summary: Yaoi, KaiRei. When someone gives Rei a teddy anonymously, he sets out to find out who it was. Oneshot.


Typed up with the encouragement of my dearest wife, posted for cheer. Enjoy:

* * *

Rei Kon pressed his hands against the toyshop window and stared at the bear. The bear stared back, with glassy green eyes. It was a beautiful teddy, dark brown and cuddly-looking, with a big red bow around its neck. Rei was sure he'd never seen such a pretty bear before in his life...

Still looking at it, Rei fumbled for the door handle of the shop- some tiny, strangely named specialists- and went inside. The inside of the shop was a child's paradise- full of all manner of toys, from traditional doll's houses to mini computers, and all kinds of books and teddies packed onto the shelves. An amused glance at an electronic book made Rei remember his own childhood and how low-tech it had been in comparison. When he'd been growing up books were scarce in any case, let alone ones that lit up and made noises and read along with you!

With the old wooden floor creaking under his feet and the smell of polish tickling his nose, he crossed the room to where he'd been intending to go in the first place- the teddy section. The bear he liked was sandwiched between a wizard doll and a soft toy that looked vaguely like a rabbit, and didn't look much like either.

Brushing his hair out of his face, he reached out and picked the bear up. It was just as he'd expected- not so soft it was floppy, but not so firm it was hard. And the fur was so soft-! Smiling, Rei turned it over. At the sight of the price tag, the smile faded. It was an expensive bear. A -very- expensive bear...it cost far more than he could afford to spend on a toy, no matter how much he liked it. With a sense of sadness he put the bear back, glancing around. Now that he looked properly, he could see that everything in the shop looked expensive. It was obviously that kind of shop. A high-class, collectors' toyshop. He probably couldn't afford anything in there, not even the tiniest toy soldier...

With a last look at the bear he left the shop, sighing to himself and drifting away to find the pencils he'd set out to buy in the first place, not noticing as someone walked into the shop he'd just left.

Someone with two-tone hair and a billowing scarf...

* * *

As they moved to another hotel, Rei put the bear out of his mind, concentrating instead on training, finishing the last Lord of the Rings book and trying to keep Mao out of his pants without telling her that he was gay and found the idea of having sex with her singularly repulsive.

He was so busy with those three things that it was a shock, a massive shock, when he woke up one morning to find the bear at the end of his bed. At first he thought he was imagining it. But no, it was real- a tentative touch proved that. But how had it gotten there? Who'd put it there? And, more importantly, was he dreaming?

A pinch to the back of his hand told him he was awake. Well...how strange...

Cuddling the bear to his chest, Rei kicked his duvet away and got up. He had to find out who'd given it to him and thank them. But...how had they known he liked it in the first place? Well...he could work that out later. Right then, he was more concerned with finding the generous bear-giver. And his first port of call was Max. Max had a fondness for bears, and he was known for being quite generous...

* * *

"Hey Max..." Rei sauntered over to the younger blonde (who was raiding the mini bar), wiggling his toes in the carpet. "Did you...put this bear on my bed earlier?" Rei shifted from one foot from the other, hoping a direct approach would bring a direct answer.

Max rifled around in the fridge a little more before popping up, looking as if what Rei had said made no sense. He glanced at the bear and shrugged. "Nope. Not me." Before Rei could say anything else Max was back with his face in the mini bar, trying to pry the crisps out from behind the whiskey. Rei watched him for a second, cuddling the bear uncertainly. If it hadn't been Max...

Aha! It could have been Takao!

* * *

Takao was sitting in front of the TV, tapping the remote off his thigh as he watched some mind-numbing dross about wrestlers. With fake casualness that would put a Hollywood actor to shame, Rei flopped down on the sofa beside him. "Hey Taka. Did you, um...did you by any chance buy me this bear?"

"Hnh?" Takao turned to look at him with a glazed expression on his face.

"Um...did you get me this bear? Only I found it at the end of my bed this morning..."

"Nah, wasn't me." He looked away, staring at the TV again. Rei stood up, thinking hard. If it wasn't Max and it wasn't Takao, then...maybe Kenny? He was...generous...ish...wasn't he?

* * *

"A teddy bear? No..." With four words Kenny firmly squashed Rei's fledgling delight at having found the mystery teddy-giver. Rei sighed, defeated. "I started some work on Driger though..."

"Cool. Mind if we talk about it later? I need some breakfast..." And to find out who gave me the bear! Added his mind.

With an apologetic smile, Rei took his bear over to the tiny kitchen, which was squeezed in between the bathroom and Takao's hovel. He sat his new, lovely teddy on the worktop, propping it against the toaster as he filled the kettle and flicked it on, hoping a nice cup of hot tea would boost his deductive skills.

As the kettle steamed, he looked at the bear with a smile, wondering who'd given it to him. He couldn't remember doing anything in the recent past that would make anyone want to buy him something so nice, and his only admirer around was Mao, and she wouldn't have bought him a teddy. Whoever it was must have a lot of money to spare at any rate...

He smoothed the bow down, leaning on the worktop and looking at the bear's eyes again. They were so pretty...

Of course, there was the question of what to call it. Hmm, and was it a girl or a boy? ...Boy. It had a manly jaw. So, boy names...maybe James? William? Bobby?

He was so busy thinking of names that didn't sound ridiculous or belong to people he already knew that he didn't notice Kai walk into the kitchen. And, consequently, didn't notice the Russian walking right up behind him. "Nice bear..."

The low voice in his ear brought Rei crashing back into the real world, jumping in surprise. Ah, only Kai. "He's lovely, isn't he? I found him at the bottom of my bed this morning..."

"Mm, well have fun with him." As Kai started to walk away, Rei's brain fizzed into action, slotting bits of information together at an insane pace. -Kai- had been out shopping at the same time as him- he could have seen him in the shop. -Kai- had a lot of money to spare. -Kai- was generous. Well, to cats at least...

"It was you!" The astonished, accusative statement stopped the Russian in his tracks.

"...Guilty." He said, after a long silence. Still standing in the doorway he turned, his face a mask showing no expression. Rei just stared at him, surprised and a bit confused. Why would Kai, of all people, buy him a teddy? The most people usually got out of Kai was sarcasm, and he definitely wasn't a teddy bear kind of person...

"Why?" Rei was aware that sounding so shocked at Kai's generosity was rude, but he needed to know. He looked at the bear then picked him up, looking him and Kai over, perplexed. "Why would you buy -me- a teddy?"

"I saw you looking at it in the shop."

"But...it was so expensive..."

"It wasn't exactly bank-breaking." Kai's reply was unfeeling, and almost cold. He was acting like it was nothing special, like a penny picked up off the street... As if he didn't want to associate with the present he'd given...

"Why did you get me it? You don't even like me!" Rei persisted, hurt when he realised how true that statement was- his friendship with Kai was nothing like as easy and relaxed as his friendship with Max, say, or Takao...

Rei's mind was still desperately seeking answers as Kai took a step closer, grabbing him by his free wrist. "Who told you I didn't like you?"

"Well...no-one...but..." Rei looked up at Kai, confused. The Russian just glared.

"I do like you!" He snapped, sounding angry. It suddenly occurred to Rei that he was being intolerably rude. He hadn't even thanked Kai properly yet, he'd just questioned and questioned him! "It's a lovely bear, Kai. Thank you..."

"You don't have to thank me."

"I'm sorry I was so rude..." Kai looked away as Rei said that, seemingly unwilling to make eye contact. "Just...I didn't think you liked me enough to be so kind to me..." Rei tried to remove his wrist from Kai's grip gently, but the Russian kept hold, still looking away. "Um...what was the occasion?"

"There wasn't one. I just thought...it would be nice to make you smile." The faintest hint of a blush appeared on Kai's cheeks and Rei suddenly had an idea. A wild, crazy idea.

"Kai...are you...um..."

A smooth thumb rubbed against the skin of his wrist, and then suddenly Kai let go of him. "I like you...a lot, Rei." Rei's mind reeled, and he watched Kai turn away.

"You're gay...aren't you?" Rei had to confess himself a little shocked. Kai had never seemed the type...but...

"I don't want to discuss it. Just forget about it. Enjoy the bear." And with that, Kai started to walk away.

Before Rei knew what he was doing he'd grabbed Kai's arm. "Wait..."

"What?"

"Are you gay?" Kai wheeled around, looking supremely annoyed.

"Do you need everything spelling out for you?"

"Are you?" Rei repeated his question, determined to get a proper, conclusive answer.

"Yes!" Kai spat. "Happy now?" Rei smiled, considering that.

"Yeah. I am." Thoughtfully, he moved the hand still on Kai's arm, using it to cup the Russian's cheek. And now it was Kai's turn to look puzzled, staring at him as if he wasn't sure of what was happening. "What...what are you doing?"

Rei neglected to answer, opting instead to stand on his tiptoes, slipping his arms around Kai's neck and kissing his cheek. "He's a beautiful bear, Kai. Thank you." Kai gawped.

"A-are you saying-?"

"Yeah. I'm firmly wedged in the closet. And I'd like it to stay that way, if it's alright by you. Mao and Rai and everyone else back home would go mad if they knew." Rei paused, crossing his fingers. "Still, no-one would suspect anything of a captain and his team-mate going out for a bite to eat together, would they?"

"Um...no..." As if suddenly realising what was going on, Kai laid a hand on Rei's waist, stroking it gently.

"So...say seven? In the lobby?"

"Right. Seven..." Rei let go of Kai, unable to stop a smile spreading across his face.

"Who knows?" He said, smirking slightly. "I might even let you name my teddy..."

Fin

* * *

R&R please! 


End file.
